- Android suffers drop in global CTR Index but outshines the competition in South East Asia
- USA ad network fill rate significantly higher than worldwide average

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The metrics show that Android has been enjoying huge success in terms of click-through rates in South East Asia. But on the global front, it has dropped by around 50% and into fifth place, with Symbian retaining top spot and Feature Phone handsets, the only handset OS to make consistent gains over the last four months, claiming second space.

Smaato’s metrics are based upon 36 mobile ad networks and over 4 billion ad requests served in the Smaato Network of more than 3,300 registered mobile publishers in March 2010.

Worldwide CTR Index (Click Through Rate) by Handset Operating System

Chart 1: Smaato Index – Operating System CTR (Click Through Rates) worldwide, March 2010

The performance of different operating systems in March shows Symbian’s lead decrease slightly, as Feature Phone handsets and Windows Phone make significant increases. The CTR Index (Click Through Rate) differs from 35 (Blackberry) to 156 (Symbian), compared to February where the spread was between 51 (Blackberry) and 147 (Symbian).

Android has suffered the most in the latest metrics, with a drop of almost 50% as its global CTR Index fell from 110 in February, to 58 in March. This has been the second consecutive month that Android has dropped. Feature Phone handsets have been building momentum since the first Smaato Metrics Report in December. Each month it has made consistent gains on the competition in the CTR Index, from 84 in December, to 91 in January, to 107 in February and now at 123 in March.

The Index consists of the average CTR of all devices and this number is set to 100.

Symbian’s lead has shortened in the CTR Index table and remains the OS to beat with regards to CTR performance in mobile advertising. Feature Phones have been making steady ground, where as Apple remains consistent across February and March (89).

Chart 2: Smaato Index – Operating System CTR (Click Through Rates) worldwide, Q1 2010

Symbian is continously the best performing OS regarding the CTR worldwide. After strong performances in January and February, Android lost its second position in March.

Fill Rate Worldwide

Smaato’s metrics demonstrates the performance of mobile ad networks globally and the fill rate is measured as the percentage of ads delivered per ad request and varies by different factors, like country, device and content type.

The ad networks are not published in the monthly Smaato metrics, but are revealed in the dashboard of registered Smaato publishers reporting and analytics tools (www.smaato.com/signup).

Chart 3 Smaato Index – Fill Rate of Mobile Ad Networks (worldwide), March 2010

Chart 4 Smaato Index – Fill Rate of Mobile Ad Networks (worldwide), Q1 2010

The fill rates of the global top 10 ad networks, increased from February to March. The best performing mobile ad network in the Smaato worldwide Index had a fill rate of 93% in March 2010, which is up 21% points compared to February. The second strongest ad network was up at 59% fill rate, an increase of 13% points. Despite the increases across the board, the average for worldwide ad network fill rate performance remains steady at 28% (from 29% in the previous month), with six of the top 10 ad networks performing above this average. This data helps to prove that an ad network aggregation system can help partners achieve the best possible return and the highest possible fill rate, across the globe.

Fill Rate USA

Chart 5 Smaato Index – Fill Rate of Mobile Ad Networks (USA), March 2010

The average fill rate of mobile ad networks in the USA rose to 41% in March, recovering from February’s average of 35%. Five of the top eight ad networks performed above the average and the US average fill rate, remains significantly higher than the global fill rate of 28%. In line with the global fill rates, the top US ad networks experience significant increases from February, with the strongest network rising from 78% up to 94% fill rate.

SPOTLIGHT SOUTH-EAST-ASIA:

CTR Index (Click Through Rate) by Handset Operating System: South-East Asia (Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, Philippines)

Following on from Smaato’s revelations in to the South-East Asia CTR Index in February, it has again turned the spotlight on the region to see what has changed in the space of a month.

Chart 6 Smaato Index – Operating System CTR (Click Through Rates) Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, Philippines, March 2010

The performance of the different handset operating systems compiled for Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia and the Philippines gives an interesting insight into the variances in handset usage and how they compare on a global basis.

Where Android has dropped in the global CTR Index this month and in February was in third place in South East Asia, this month it has stormed into the top spot. As the volume of Android devices is still too small to compare, the chart shows Android phones outside the ranking. Rather than dramatically increasing its CTR however, it seems that other leading handset OS have dropped. Apple iPhone and iPodTouch has more than halved its CTR Index from February, falling from 164 to 71 in March. Symbian also suffered a drop in the CTR Index, from 127 in February to 109 in March.

Feature Phones repeated its gains on a global scale in South East Asia, jumping from a CTR Index of 85 to 116 and second place behind Android. Feature Phones are the only handset OS to make consistent gains across the globe in the last four month.

Fill Rate South-East Asia (Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, Philippines)

Chart 7 Smaato Index – Fill Rate of Mobile Ad Networks (South East Asia: Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, Philippines), March 2010

The fill rates show a dramatic decrease of fill rates of the top ad networks in this region. Last month, the two leading ad networks had significantly higher fill rates (90% and 87%) – this months the top five ad networks range from 49% to 39%. This hints at smaller budgets available for the region in March.

South-East Asia’s average fill rate of 37% is considerably higher compared to the worldwide average of 28% and inched higher compared to the previous month (32%).

The strong continued growth of mobile inventory in the South-East Asia region and close-by mobile giants of India and China is attracting more advertisers and brands but as the fill rate indicates, there is still much more room to improve monetization across the mobile ecosystem.

Ad Network Response Time worldwide

Smaato has taken another look at the response time of the top-performing ad networks in the Metrics for March 2010. The top 15 ad networks show a broad spectrum of performance.

Chart 8 Smaato Index – Response Time for Mobile Ad Networks (worldwide), March 2010

The fastest response time was again only 11 milliseconds. In total, the top six ad networks could again deliver quicker than the month before.

Publishers should consider response times when adding several ad networks within a page load and therefore an allotted time to fill the ad space reserved.

This is a significant consideration for mobile publishers as for them, the best user-experience comes with the fastest loading time of a mobile web site or for in-app advertising. If an ad is requested from a mobile ad network and no ad is available, then a faster response time allows sending this request to one or more ad networks for a chance to get an ad delivered.

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Smaato is supporting regional Mobile Advertising conferences throughout April and May in Singapore.

The Smaato metrics released for March are a lead in to the MMA Forum Singapore event on April 14-15. More info here.

Additional Data and upcoming white paper is scheduled to be published for the Mobile Squared Road Show in Singapore that is sponsored by Smaato. The event takes place in the Singapore Art Museum May 5 and 6. More info here.

Related Posts:

• Windows Mobile Edges Ahead of Apple iPhone in Mobile Advertising Performance
• Android moves ahead of iPhone in new Smaato Mobile Advertising Metrics – Symbian still on top
• Apple significantly increases mobile advertising performance across the globe
• Android makes significant gains in the US for mobile advertising performance but remains the OS with the lowest Response Rate (CTR) in Europe
• South Africa is World Champion with average 72% Ad Network Fill Rate compared to average 43% USA

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These metrics show that the average worldwide ad network fill rates remain constant at 29% in February 2010. There is also a focus on the US and South-East Asian markets and at ad network response times.

Smaato’s metrics are based upon 35 mobile ad networks and over 4 billion ad requests served in the Smaato Network of more than 3000 registered mobile publishers in February 2010.

Worldwide CTR Index (Click Through rate) by Handset Operating System

Chart 1: Smaato Index – Operating System CTR (Click Through Rates) worldwide, February 2010

The performance of different operating systems in February shows a smaller gap between the different platforms than in January. The CTR Index (Click Through Rate) differs from 51 (Blackberry) to 147 (Symbian), compared to in January where the spread was between 30 (Blackberry) and 173 (Symbian).

One of the big surprises is the continuing decline of CTR Index from iPhone and iPodTouch with a rate of 89; it’s the first time Apple devices have dipped below the average Index of 100. In December 2009 the iPhone posted a CTR Index of 119, sliding to 104 in January 2010.

The dip in CTR Index on Apple devices and the consistency of Windows Mobile CTR, means that for the first time in the Smaato metrics, Windows Mobile has edge ahead of its rival.

The Index consists of the average CTR of all devices and this number is set to 100.

Symbian OS establishes itself as the leader since the launch of the Smaato Metrics for December 2009 and Android is keeping its position as the number two operating system in regards to CTR performance in mobile advertising.

Fill Rate Worldwide

Smaato’s metrics demonstrates the performance of mobile ad networks globally and the fill rate is measured as the percentage of ads delivered per ad request and varies by different factors, like country, device, content type.

The ad networks are not published in the monthly Smaato metrics, but are revealed in the dashboard of registered Smaato publishers reporting and analytics tools.

Chart 2: Smaato Index – Fill Rate of Mobile Ad Networks (worldwide), February 2010

The fill rates of the global top 10 ad networks, dropped from January to February. The best performing mobile ad network in the Smaato worldwide Index had a fill rate of 72% in February 2010, which is a down 17% compared to January. Despite this decrease, the average for worldwide ad network fill rate performance stayed steady at 29%, with six of the top ten ad networks performing above this average. This re-enforces the ad network aggregation business model, as Smaato aggregates 35 ad networks across the globe to ensure partners get the highest possible fill rate.

Fill Rate USA

Chart 3: Smaato Index – Fill Rate of Mobile Ad Networks (USA), February 2010

The average fill rate of mobile ad networks in the USA shows with 35% again a decrease in comparison to January 2010 (47%) and December 2009 (55%). But it stills remains significantly higher than the worldwide average fill rate of only 29%. With 78% and 64% the two top performing ad networks performed higher than in January, where they could reach a fill rate of only 68% and 61%.

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SPOTLIGHT SOUTH-EAST-ASIA:

Fill Rate South-East Asia (Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, Philippines)

This is the first time Smaato has compiled the fill rates and revealed the CTR Index in the South-East Asian countries such as Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia and Philippines.

The fill rates show two very strong top performing ad networks with 90% and 87% fill rates in this region. Overall, the fill rates show a similar spread to those in the USA.

South-East Asia’s average fill rate of 32% is considerably higher compared to that of India’s, which was revealed in the January Smaato Metrics as 8%. This demonstrates the large differences across the Asian market and the need for developers to search for different partners or a mobile aggregation and optimization service.

Chart 4: Smaato Index – Fill Rate of Mobile Ad Networks in South East Asia (Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, Philippines), February 2010

CTR Index (Click Through rate) by Handset Operating System: Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia and Philippines

Chart 5: Smaato Index – Operating System CTR (Click Through Rates) Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, Philippines, February 2010

The performance of the different handset operating systems compiled for Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia and the Philippines shows a completely different breakdown compared to the worldwide performance.

iPhone and iPodTouch dominates the region with a CTR Index of 164 followed by Symbian (127) and Android (124), while Windows Mobile comes in at the bottom of the table with 56.

Ad Network Response Time Worldwide

Chart 6: Smaato Index – Response Time for Mobile Ad Networks (worldwide), February 2010

Smaato has taken another look at the response time of the top-performing ad networks in the Metrics for February 2010. The top 15 ad networks in regards to fill rates again show a broad spectrum of performance.

The fastest response time was only 11 milliseconds, significantly faster in comparison to January 2010, where it was 43 milliseconds. In total, the top six ad networks could deliver quicker than the month before.

Publishers should consider response times when adding several ad networks within a page load and therefore an allotted time to fill the ad space reserved.

This is a significant consideration for mobile publishers as for them, the best user-experience comes with the fastest loading time of a mobile web site or for in-app advertising. If an ad is requested from a mobile ad network and no ad is available, then a faster response time allows sending this request to one or more ad networks for a chance to get an ad delivered.

More background about these mobile advertising metrics is provided free in a white paper “Global Choices in Mobile Advertising” available at www.smaato.com/whitepaper.

Download the Smaato Metrics – February 2010 PDF Version

Related Posts:

• Android moves ahead of iPhone in new Smaato Mobile Advertising Metrics – Symbian still on top
• Android suffers drop in global CTR Index but outshines the competition in South East Asia
• Apple significantly increases mobile advertising performance across the globe
• Android makes significant gains in the US for mobile advertising performance but remains the OS with the lowest Response Rate (CTR) in Europe
• South Africa is World Champion with average 72% Ad Network Fill Rate compared to average 43% USA